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When reporters asked [Alan] Shepard what he thought about as he sat atop the Redstone rocket, waiting for liftoff, he had replied, 'The fact that every part of this ship was built by the low bidder. -- from "Failure Is Not an Option" by Gene Kranz

Sorry, but it's true: Your network at home or in your small to medium business (and maybe even in some large enterprises) probably sucks. It's likely to be a disaster in the making.

Here are four reasons why:

Reason #4: You have next to no idea how your computers work let alone how your network really functions which means that every device and service you add to your network introduces, potentially, new problems that you have no idea about.

This is only partly your fault. The part that isn't your fault is the fault of the computer industry because they do such a poor job building reliable and understandable products.

The problem exists because we've come so far, so fast ... networking technology is very complicated stuff and it evolves at a staggering rate. Just tracking and understanding the issues with, say, a Windows PC requires a not insignificant amount of effort which you probably don't have time to do.

But you most likely don't have just Windows ... you probably also have some mixture of Windows, OS X, iOS, and various flavors of Linux in devices such as routers and network attached storage so your problems are going to be much more complex. They shouldn't be but they are ...

While modern cars are also extremely complex, car manufacturers have made them, for want of a better phrase, "turn key". Other than filling them up with gas and taking them in for occasional services and repairs, you really don't have to think too much about your car do you? Not so with PCs. There is really little about computers and networking products that is truly turn-key.

This isn't your fault. The computer industry is, in the main, incapable of making computer products that are easy to use (although the iPad and the iPhone are arguably the best we've seen so far ... which is evidenced by the fact they sell so well).

So let's say you'd like to get to grips with your network and learn about the various operating systems and devices to a level where you could be self-supporting. While you certainly can do this, to really get "deep" knowledge requires years of work and it's not like the vendors of the products you use make it easy: I'd suggest that 99% of all computer documentation is created by people who don't really have a clue about what they're doing. I often think that an army of monkeys randomly pressing keys would generate documentation as good as that which many vendors deliver.

So, this is all only partially your fault. But what then is you fault? Keep reading ...

Reason #3: Your network is horribly insecure. Unless you really understand what you're doing the chances of acquiring malware in the form of viruses and rootkits are very high as is the possibility that some black hat hacker from China or the Ukraine will get in and steal your identity or turn your computers into "zombies" on their botnet. And if your kids use the Internet and you haven't got adequate protection in place then the chances of infections and incursions are much, much higher.